Portiere-support



No. 65,009; Patented Nov. 29, I898. Li A. BENNETT &. G. W. LORING. PORTIERE SUPPORT {Application filed Aug. 27, 1897.)

(No Model.)

M32969 I7zUe7zZ67' a M LwZiedBenuefi i GwyeM Loriw UNITED STATES PATENT @EEICE.

LESLIE A. BENNETT, OF MALDEN, AND GEORGE WV. LORING, OF BROOKTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

PORTIFERE-SUPPORT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 615,009, dated November 29, 1898. Application filed A t 2'7, 1897. Serial No. 649,674. (No modeld T 00% whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, LEsLIE A. BENNETT, of Malden, county of Middlesex, and GEORGE W. LORING, of Brockton, county of Plymouth,

State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Portire-Supports, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like I0 parts.

Heretofore it has been quite common to hang porticres, curtains, 850., by means of rings secured to the upper edge thereof and arranged to be slid on poles, and necessarily a I5 space is left between the upper side of the pole and the door-casing and between the top of the portiere and the pole.

This invention has for its object the production of novel supporting means for portieres,

2o curtains, and the like, whereby the spaces above noted are obviated and the whole appearance of the apparatus is improved.

Figure 1 of the drawings shows a doorcasin g provided with a portieresupport embodying 2 5 our invention, the portiere being shown as extended. Fig. 2 is an enlarged View of the boxlike support with one of its sides broken out. Fig. 3 is a transverse section thereof, and Fig. l is a transverse sectional view of one of the 0 trucks or carriages to be described.

Referring to Fig. 1, the casing A of the door or window opening is of usual construction and is shown as closed by a portiere B.

We have herein shown (see Figs. 2 and 3) 5 the box-like support G as composed of two sides a b, of wood or other suitable material, in practice made in pieces of suitable length and put together to leave a chamber 0 between them and above tracks a 1), formed or "secured to each of the sides along its lower edge and on the inner face thereof, the vertical edges of the tracks leaving a longitudinal opening between them extending substantially the length of the support G.

The strips forming the support may be united by any usual or suitable tongue-andgroove connection, as at 10, Figs. 2 and 3, at the top, and they may be attached to the under side of the top of the casing in any suit able manner, as by screws d,extended through holes (l in the support.

We have herein shown trucks or carriages 6, provided each with four rolls or wheels e, rotatably mounted on axles e extending laterally from the sides of the carriages, two of such rolls or wheels being located at each side of the carriage and adapted to travel upon the tracks a b.

The special construction of the carriages and the cooperating special internal form of the support constitute our invention and together serve to obviate binding and sticking or catching of the carriage or trolley in the track, which has heretofore been common to devices of this general nature. We preferably make the truck in the form of a rectangular block which approximately fills the vertical slotway between the horizontal tracks a b, preventing twisting movement or lateral shifting of one end of the carriage relatively to the other end, and this carriage carries a plurality of rolls running upon each of the tracks a b, the roof or upper wall of the internal chamber 0 constituting a guideway which absolutely prevents any endwise tipping of the carriage sufficient to wedge it i. 2., the arrangement is such that there can be no appreciable forward or rearward tipping but if the curtain is suddenly jerked forward, so as to raise the front pair of wheels from contact with their tracks, the carriage will at once strike the top of the chamber, acting as a guideway to hold the carriage in substantial parallelism with said tracks, being thereby compelled to move along freely and smoothly, giving absolutely free movement without any possibility of binding, catching, or wedging in any way whatever.

By providing the carriages with two pairs of rolls or Wheels they are prevented from binding or jamming between the sides of the support G, so that when the portiere or ourtain is opened or closed the carriages will run true on their supporting-tracks. Each carriage is slightly narrower than the space be- 5 tween the tracks, so that the lower part of the carriage which extends downwardly in the said space can travel freely therein and substantially fill the space adjacent thereto, preventing the portion of the portiere or curtain attached to the carriage from being forced in between the tracks when the portiere is opened or folded.

The upper edge of the drapery may be attached to the carriages in any convenient manner, and we have herein shown a screweye 6 as fastened into the under side of the carriage for this purpose.

The number of carriages employed will depend upon the width of the doorway or other opening, and by pulling the portiere or curtain in one or the other direction the carriages readily travel on their tracks in either direction.

Vhile we prefer to make the box-like support G of wood, it may be made of any other 4 suitable 1naterialas, for instance, metaland the strips may be rolled into shape, such construction not departing from the spirit and scope of our invention. So, too, the tracks may be made separately and attached to the inner sides of the support, if desired.

Having fully described ourinvention, what We claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

A porticre-support,comprising a supporting member having an internal chamber, and a vertical slot at its under side communicating with said chamber and leaving parallel tracks within the chamber and at opposite sides of said slot, combined with a plurality of carriages having respectively aplurality of rolls running upon each of said parallel tracks,and a guideway within said chamber to maintain said carriage in substantial parallelism with said tracks thereby to avoid the cramping and sticking which would result from the tip ping of a carriage upon its said tracks.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

LESLIE A. BENNETT. GEO. \V. LORING. Witnesses:

GEo. W. GREGORY, EMMA J. BENNETT. 

